PODCAST · arts

Angler's Hours

by Hugh Tempest Sheringham

One of the classic British books about angling. The author’s love was fly fishing—“…while there are trout, life is worth living…” but he was no snob. An Angler’s Hours includes several chapters about coarse fishing (grayling, dace, chub, etc.) as well as a surprising account of the Japanese tenkara method as used in England. Sheringham's style is similar to that of the much-loved B.B. (Denys Watkins-Pitchford) with a dash of P.G. Wodehouse. He doesn’t bore us with technical details but writes of the simple joys of angling—"a man who gazes at the wares in a tackle-shop on a sunny day in April has certainly a fishing expedition in prospect”—not forgetting the pleasure of a nice pot of tea at the end of the day. Hugh Tempest Sheringham (1876 - 1930) was angling editor of The Field (London) and considered one of the premier British authors on freshwater angling both for his knowledge of the subject and readable style. - Summary by Adrian Praetzellis